Elegy of Innocence

A young woman, perhaps of royal descent, sits crying at the feet of a large drapery. The statue of a mighty lion can be seen in the background, while—a step away from the girl—a sign of blood marks the shining floor: are those the tears of prey, or the sign of remorse of a predator?

In “Elegy of Innocence,” Daniel Salvi deliberately creates an ambiguous and mysterious story, which can radically change the context of the entire composition. What remains the same for both, however, is the chosen title, which marks this image as a universal representation of a person’s loss of innocence.

It is the final farewell to the girlhood that changes the perception of everything: the drapery, similar to that of a crib, becomes a prison; the mighty lion from protector becomes an oppressive guardian.